The first park safe for children with autism has appeared in the USA. It is dedicated to Sesame Street
Sesame Place, the world's first theme park certified as safe for children with autism, will open in Pennsylvania on April 28. The park staff received a detailed briefing on how to behave with children with special needs. The park timed this event to coincide with National Autism Awareness Month in the United States.
To make a fun and exciting place for people with autism and their families, Sesame Workshop worked together with IBCCES (the body that provides international certification of autism in health and education).
The park will open in Langhorn. People with autism often suffer from sensory overload, and crowds of people, bright lights and loud sounds can excite them too much. Therefore, in addition to the usual attractions and Sesame Street shows, the park will have "quiet" rooms for privacy, noise-canceling headphones and areas with a low level of sensory stimulation where you can relax. Trained staff will make sure that visitors with autism are comfortable.
Navigation in the park includes a guide with instructions on how a particular attraction can affect the sensory perception of children with autism. This way parents will be able to determine which activities are best suited for their child. The park will open on April 28 at 10 a.m., but entrance tickets are already on sale on the website.
In 2015, a heroine with autism, a girl named Julia, appeared for the first time in one of the episodes of Sesame Street. Since the spring of 2017, this doll has become a regular participant of the show. Sesame Place plans to make Julia one of the park's characters so that people can chat with her.
Other amusement parks are also thinking about inclusivity, that is, accessibility for different categories of visitors. In 2017, the Morgan's Inspiration Island Water Park was opened, fully accessible for people with disabilities.
Keywords: Autism | Amusement park | Pennsylvania | USA